Thread Starter
Vames
(@vames)
My intention was to give this 3 stars, but it doesn’t matter now. I just hope you guys look into the concerns I made.
Vames,
I so agree with you, but I understand where the devs are coming from.
I say, do something incredibly well, which this plugin does. Allow the third-parties to extend it into exactly what they want.
What you mention above is the same problem WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, even Gravity Forms, run into with third-party addons. No easy solution here I’m afraid.
I’m personally glad you gave the plugin 5 stars because a 3 star review for something the devs can’t control is, in my opinion, unreasonable.
Thread Starter
Vames
(@vames)
The developers call Epoch a alternative to Disqus, but it is not. When you install Disqus, everything you require is right there. The plugin might have issues with load times among other things, but folks are willing to make the sacrifice regardless because it is the only good solution that works out of the box.
Many admins like myself, are seeking a solid comment system outside of Disqus and Jetpack. But every new one that comes along that seems to have potential, requires 1 or more plugins for full functionality.
If a plugin stops working, you have to jump to an alternative, and if that alternative stop working, there might not be another one good enough.
I thought it was common knowledge that folks want to use less plugins, not more.
I believe that comment plugin developers who want to compete with Disqus need to deliver an integrated package or just don’t bother at all, because at the end of the day, some might switch, but they will always return to Disqus due to the seamless integration of key features, and the peace of mind knowing that there’s a 90 percent chance the features will still be around a year from now.
I can’t say the same about the plugins Epoch requires to deliver optimal functionality.
Disqus is an awful user experience. Slow load (especially on mobile), and limited visual appeal. Additionally, the whole “sponsored comments” thing is a very bad idea.
Epoch isn’t meant to “compete” with Disqus – instead, it’s to improve native WordPress commenting, ensuring full control is with the blogger.
Optimal functionality of commenting is simple – leave a comment, move on. Much more optimal than wondering if the plugin will even load in the first place, due to heavy coding.
